U.S. patent number 5,579,820 [Application Number 08/339,175] was granted by the patent office on 1996-12-03 for roll-up door for vehicle shelters.
Invention is credited to Robert LePage, Michel Paradis.
United States Patent |
5,579,820 |
LePage , et al. |
December 3, 1996 |
Roll-up door for vehicle shelters
Abstract
A roll-up closure device for typically collapsible vehicle
shelters of the type having a structure made of assembled tubular
members and cross-members and a complementary covering therefor
made of a flexible plastics material and defining at the front end
thereof a door opening. The side walls of the shelter are inclined
in such a way as to diverge from top to bottom, whereby the door
opening has generally a isosceles trapezoidal shape. The device
includes a pair of opposed side guide rails mounted at laterally
opposite sides of the door opening so as to follow the angled sides
thereof, an overhead motor driven roll-up boom extending above the
door opening, and a flexible closure shaped like the door opening
and having its lateral side edges slidably engaged in the guide
rails, whereby the closure device does not substantially reduce the
lateral dimensions of the door opening. Cables attached to the
roll-up boom are secured to the lateral edges of the closure so
that the rotation of the boom causes the cables to wind around
respective tapered pulleys provided near each end of the boom with
the closure in a rolled attitude extending between the pulleys.
Stretched elastics are secured to the lower part of the closure to
laterally retract the side edges of the latter towards each other
as the closure is being raised. A tensioning mechanism is provided
to ensure that the cables remain taut at any position of the
closure.
Inventors: |
LePage; Robert
(Bois-des-Filion, Quebec, CA), Paradis; Michel
(Fabreville, Laval, Quebec, CA) |
Family
ID: |
23327840 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/339,175 |
Filed: |
November 10, 1994 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
160/268.1;
160/271; 160/323.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H
6/04 (20130101); E06B 9/13 (20130101); E06B
2009/2494 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04H
6/04 (20060101); E04H 6/02 (20060101); E06B
9/11 (20060101); E06B 9/13 (20060101); A47G
005/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;160/271,273.1,268.1,370.22,323.1 ;135/117 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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533251 |
|
Nov 1954 |
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BE |
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3841139 |
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Jun 1990 |
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DE |
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Primary Examiner: Johnson; Blair
Claims
We claim:
1. A roll-up closure device typically for use on vehicle shelters
of the type defining at a front end thereof a door opening having
lateral sides which diverge from top to bottom, comprising a pair
of guide means adapted to be mounted to the vehicle shelter
substantially at the lateral sides of the door opening and
substantially parallel thereto thereby diverging from top to bottom
an overhead roller means adapted to be rotatably mounted inside the
vehicle shelter and substantially horizontally adjacent an upper
end of the door opening, a flexible closure means adapted to be
secured at a top end thereof to said roller means, at least a
section of said flexible closure means having a shape which tapes
in direction of said roller means and including diverging lateral
side edges adapted to be engaged in said guide means, whereby a
rotation of said roller means causes said flexible closure means to
displace along said guide means and to wind around said roller
means or to unwind therefrom for displacing said flexible closure
means towards an open or a closed position thereof, respectively,
wherein in said closed position, said section of said flexible
closure means substantially completely closes the door opening.
2. A closure device as defined in claim 1, wherein said roller
means comprise winding means adapted to take up substantially
triangular lateral end portions of said section such that when said
flexible close means is in a rolled attitude around said roller
means, said flexible closure means defines substantially concentric
and cylindrical layers of varying axial width.
3. A close device as defined in claim 2, wherein said roller means
comprise a rotatable shaft with said top end of said flexible
closure means being attached thereto, a pair of pulley means
mounted at ends of said shaft, cable means being engaged to said
pulley means and secured to said flexible closure means such that a
rotation of said shaft and pulley means cause said cable means to
displace thereby displacing said flexible closure means.
4. A closure device as defined in claim 3, wherein each said pulley
means comprise first pulley having an outwardly flaring bottom for
receiving said lateral side edicts of said flexible closure means
in an axially outwardly staggered relationship therearound for
maintaining substantially taut said cylindrical layers of said
section in said rolled attitude.
5. A closure device as defined in claim 4, wherein said cable means
are connected to said pulley means such as to define closed loops,
each said pulley means comprising a second pulley adjacent said
first pulley, each said cable means being secured to both said
first and second pulley such that a rotation of said pulley means
causes said cable means to wind around one of said first and second
pulleys and to unwind from another one of said first and second
pulleys.
6. A closure device as defined in claim 4, wherein said first
pulley is frusto-conical shaped.
7. A closure device as defined in claim 5, wherein a third pulley
engaged by said cable means is provided at a lower end of each said
guide means, whereby when said flexible closure means is displaced
towards said closed position thereof, said flexible closure means
and said cable means attached thereto unwind from said first
pulleys with said cable means being also wound around said second
pulleys while driving said flexible closure means downwardly along
said guide means such as to substantially completely close the door
opening; whereas when said flexible closure means is displaced
towards said open position thereof, said flexible closure means and
said cable means attached thereto wind around said first pulleys
while upwardly pulling said flexible closure means along said guide
means with said cable means being also unwound from said second
pulleys.
8. A closure device as defined in claim 5, wherein said second
pulleys are slightly angled outwardly towards said guide means for
cleanly receiving said cable means therein during rotation of said
roller means towards said closed position.
9. A closure device as defined in claim 5, wherein said cable means
are each provided with binding means to ensure sufficient tension
therein during rotation of said roller means.
10. A closure device as defined in claim 1, wherein said flexible
closure means is provided with elastic means extending
substantially laterally at least adjacent said side edges to ensure
that said flexible closure means remains substantially taut during
rotation of said roller means.
11. A closure device as defined in claim 10, wherein said guide
means each comprise a tubular member adapted to be mounted to the
lateral sides defining the door opening of the vehicle shelter and
inwardly defining a longitudinal slot, said lateral side edges of
said flexible closure means being engaged in said tubular members
and inwardly extending therefrom through said slots, said elastic
means maintaining said side edges substantially taut at said
slots.
12. A closure device as defined in claim 11, wherein each said
guide means comprise sealing means mounted to said tubular member
at said slot and at least on one side of said lateral side edges of
said flexible closure means.
13. A closure device as defined in claim 1, wherein reversible
motor means are provided for driving said roller means.
14. A closure device as defined in claim 1, wherein first
detachable fastening means are provided on said flexible closure
means inwardly of each said lateral side edge thereof for allowing
said flexible closure means to be manually opened in the event that
said roller means cannot be rotated or that said flexible closure
means is jammed to said guide means.
15. A closure device as defined in claim 14, wherein second
detachable fastening means are provided for securing said flexible
closure means in an open position when having been manually opened
using said first detachable fastening means.
16. A closure device as defined in claim 15, wherein said first
detachable fastening means comprise zippers, and wherein said
second detachable fastening means comprise strap means.
17. A closure device as defined in claim 1, wherein said flexible
closure means extends substantially planarly across the door
opening when in said closed position.
18. A closure device as defined in claim 11, wherein said lateral
side edges of said flexible closure means are each secured opposite
said elastic means to a sliding block means engaged in said tubular
member for ensuring that said flexible closure means can displace
along said guide means even with forces applied inwardly on said
lateral side edges by said elastic members.
19. A closure device as defined in claim 18, wherein each said
sliding block means comprises a pulley engaged by said cable means
and mounted at a distance a lower end of said sliding block means,
a lower end of said lateral side edge of said flexible closure
means being mounted to said lower end of said sliding block means,
said lower end of said sliding block means being adapted to extend
in said guide means at least close to the ground in said closed
position such that a lower edge of said flexible closure means
extends at least close to the ground, whereby said pulley, being
mounted fairly above the ground, and said cable means are not as
vulnerable to jamming due to ice built-ups with said sliding block
means ensuring that said flexible closure means extends firmly
downwards to the ground.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to collapsible vehicle shelters such
as those having a structure made of assembled tubular members and
cross-members and a complementary covering therefor made of a
flexible plastic material and, more particularly, to a roll-up door
for the door opening defined at the front of such vehicle
shelters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention relates to roll-up closures for use in
collapsible automobile shelters of the type illustrated in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,887,627 issued on Dec. 19, 1989 to Audet. Audet
discloses an improved collapsible shelter comprising a structure
made up of tubular members and cross-members forming an assembly
having side walls diverging from top to bottom and a roof section
with the structure being covered by a covering complementary in
shape to the assembled structure and made up of a weather proof
flexible plastic material. At the front of the shelter, there is
defined an opening which, in the Audet patent, is rectangular and
is closed by curtain-type flexible plastic sheet doors provided on
one or two sides of the opening. The opening is obviously intended
for allowing the vehicle to access the shelter.
In other shelters, the front opening extends the whole width of the
shelter, that is from side wall to side wall of the assembled
structure, thereby having the shape of an isosceles trapezoid. Such
openings are practical as they are as large as the shelter itself.
However, it is difficult to adapt any closure to such a
trapezoid-shaped opening and, to this date, roll-up curtain-type
flexible closures have been used therefor with these closures being
manually rolled-up from one side of the assembled structure
laterally towards the other side thereof, whereat they are retained
by strings.
Also known is a rectangular closure made of the same flexible
material as the vehicle shelter itself which by way of cables and
pulleys can be manually raised, in a way more or less similar to
horizontal Venetian blinds, towards its retracted position. A
number of spaced apart horizontally extending elongated rigid
members are fixed to the closure so that the closure includes three
sections which fold substantially like conventional garage doors.
The sides of the closure are guided in a pair of parallel vertical
rigid frame members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,736 issued on Jan. 29, 1985 to Lamontagne
discloses a vehicle shelter intended to house the front engine
compartment of the automobile. This shelter includes a flexible
canvas which surrounds the engine compartment substantially up to
the windshield of the vehicle. Warm air is blown under the engine
compartment so as to warm not only the crank-case but also the
battery and other parts situated therein. The shelter is provided
with a vertically rolled-up conventional and rudimentary closure 9.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,682 issued on Apr. 24, 1979 to Ryce discloses a
vehicle shelter comprising a closet-type enclosure with doors which
contains a plurality of arched hoops having ground engaging skids
and with a flexible covering being attached to these arched hoops.
In storage, the hoops and the covering are retracted into the
enclosure. The hoops may be pulled out manually from the enclosure
and over a car parked in front thereof. The shelter itself does not
actually include any flexible door for access thereto, when
expanded.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,474 issued on Jun. 23, 1992 to Smith discloses
a roll-up closure device made of a flexible material which is
rolled-up on a motor driven tubular cylindrical drum journalled at
the ends thereof on bearings. The closure is guided in vertical
tracks which define therebetween a rectangular opening with the
closure being of rectangular complementary shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,556 issued on Aug. 27, 1991 to Ruiter discloses
a door assembly for a rectangular doorway opening, such as a garage
opening, which comprises a flexible door panel which is guided
around rotatable guide wheels between a vertical closed position
and a horizontal open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,879 issued on Apr. 22, 1975 to Manns discloses
a roll-up door having a flexible door-leaf arranged to be wound
about a roller for closing and opening the rectangular door with
trolleys running in guide rails being located at the vertical side
frames for maintaining the door-leaf in a laterally stretch
condition, and with a movable pulley loaded by a weight being
provided for maintaining the door-leaf in a vertically stretched
position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,495 issued on Nov. 17, 1992 to Lichy discloses
a closure assembly for closing a rectangular opening which
comprises a pair of vertical guides and a closure member engaged in
the guides so that the closure member can slide along the guides.
The closure member includes a pair of vertical tape-shaped tracking
members disposed on opposite edges thereof and which are retained
within the guides. A biasing assembly which enhances lateral
tension on the closure member is also suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,107 issued on Jul. 31, 1973 to Laberge
discloses a collapsible shelter which comprises a plurality of
upstanding parallel spaced apart arched members, the lower ends of
which being received in a pair of channels fixed to the ground. A
flexible covering is spread over the arched members with the lower
edges of this covering being held by the channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,174 issued on Aug. 26, 1969 to Heller discloses
a portable cover structure for a vehicle, wherein foldable frame
sections have curtain tracks attached thereto, the frame sections
being pivotally hinged so as to form, when expanded, a continuous
covered level frame defining an uninterrupted curtain track which
receives a curtain for completely enclosing the level frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,104 issued on May 12, 1959 to Swan discloses an
awning of rectangular shape which can be displaced between an
inoperative retracted position and an operative extended position
wherein, when extended, the awning will provide a roof enclosure
having its fabric maintained in a taut condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,602 issued on Aug. 12, 1969 to Hugus discloses
a tensioning device for a rectangular flexible roll-up closure,
wherein the flexible closure membrane is fastened to a bottom rail
which is displaceable relative to an upper roller around which the
membrane can be wound and unwound as the closure opens and closes.
Tension is applied to the flexible closure membrane by way of a
spring and cable system which biases the bottom rail away from the
upper roller. The membrane is guided along a pair of vertical
trackways.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide an
improved closure device for vehicle shelters.
It is also an aim of the present invention to provide an improved
roll-up closure device adapted to close a shelter door opening
having a tapered shape and, more particularly, an isosceles
trapezoidal shape, wherein the parallel sides of the trapezoid
correspond to the horizontal sides of the door opening, with the
door being wound in an horizontal position at the top of the door
opening.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a roll-up
closure device for vehicle shelters which is driven by a reversible
motor which can also preferably be actuated from a remote
location.
It is a still further aim of the present invention to provide a
roll-up closure device for vehicle shelters wherein the flexible
closure or door includes laterally inward biasing means for
maintaining the flexible closure taut during the opening and
closing thereof, and for allowing the flexible closure to somewhat
yield depth-wise.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is
provided a roll-up closure device typically for use on vehicle
shelters of the type defining at a front end thereof a door opening
having lateral sides which diverge from top to bottom, comprising a
pair of guide means adapted to be mounted to the vehicle shelter
substantially at the lateral sides of the door opening and
substantially parallel thereto, an overhead roller means adapted to
be rotatably mounted inside the vehicle shelter and substantially
horizontally above the door opening, a flexible closure means
adapted to be secured at a top end thereof to said roller means, at
least a section of said flexible closure having a shape
substantially complementary to that of the door opening and
including diverging lateral side edges adapted to be engaged in
said guide means, whereby a rotation of said roller means causes
said flexible closure to displace along said guide means and to
wind around said roller means or to unwind therefrom for displacing
said flexible closure towards an open or a closed position thereof,
respectively.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the nature of the invention,
reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by
way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible shelter for vehicles
adapted with a roll-up closure device in accordance with the
present invention, the closure device being shown in a closed
position thereof;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of part of the closure device of
FIG. 1 and, more particularly, of a flexible closure thereof and
the cables running therethrough;
FIG. 3 is a partly broken way front elevational view of the left
hand part of the shelter and the roll-up closure device of FIG.
1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side elevational view taken along line
4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG.
3;
FIG.6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG.
3;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG.
4;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG.
4;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of part of the roll-up closure device
of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view of part of
the roll-up closure device;
FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of part of the
roll-up closure device;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a detail of the variant of FIG.
11; and
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the vehicle shelter and of the
roll-up closure device of the present invention, similar to FIG. 1,
but showing the roll-up closure device in a half open position and
adapted with the variant of FIGS. 11 and 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional vehicle shelter S adapted with a
closure device D in accordance with the present invention, wherein
the vehicle shelter S comprises a supporting structure made up of a
series of vertically and transversely oriented, spaced apart and
parallel, arched members 10 which are connected one to the other by
longitudinal cross-members 12 (see FIG. 13), with a covering C
being installed around the structure and being attached to the
various arched members 10 and cross-members 12. The covering C
which is made of a flexible plastic sheet material comprises a roof
section 14 wrapped around the arched members 10, and a vertical
front section 16 located above the door opening defined in the
shelter S for providing access for a vehicle to the inside of the
shelter S. The closure device D of the present invention is
intended to selectively open or close the door opening of the
shelter S. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 12, the shelter door opening
has the shape of an isosceles trapezoid- The closure device D of
the present invention is of the roll-up-type and includes a pair of
support plate 18 adapted to be fixedly mounted to the structure of
the shelter S and, as best seen in FIG. 3, to an upper cross-member
12 thereof by way of a bolt and wing nut assembly 20 of the type
already provided in the conventional shelter S for securing the
cross-members 12 to the arched members 10. A guide rail 22 is
secured to each one of the support plates 18 and extends therefrom
in a downwardly and slightly inclined way in such a way as to
follow the sides of the trapezoidal door opening- The lower end of
each guide rail 22 is secured to a respective lower one of the
cross-members 12 again using the bolt and wing nut assembly 20. As
seen in FIG. 4, brackets 24 are provided on the support plates 18
and on the guide rails 22 for use with the bolt and wing nut
assemblies 20 to secure the closure device D to the shelter S.
Each support plate 18 is provided with a pulley system and a cable
system which will be described in details hereinafter. Only one of
the support plates 18 and, more particularly, the left one in the
drawings is provided with a motor 26 coupled to a reducer gearbox
28 which drives by way of a toothed belt 30 a shaft 32 which
extends transversely above the door opening and which is journalled
at its ends to the support plates 18. Asides from the motor 26, the
reducer gearbox 28 and the toothed belt 30, the equipment provided
on each of the support plates 18 is identical.
A flexible closure 34 made of a plastic sheet material which is
well illustrated in FIG. 2 is adapted to engage at the sides
thereof the guide rails 22 for displacement therealong so that the
closure 34 is either wound around the shaft 32 or is unwound
therefrom depending on the rotation of the motor 26. As best seen
in FIGS. 2 and 5, the closure 34 defines a loop at each side
thereof with a cable 36 extending through this loop. As seen in
FIG. 2, the closure 34 includes an upper straight section intended
to extend above the door opening and to be attached to the shaft 32
and a lower flared section adapted to follow the shape of the door
opening so that, when the closure 34 is closed as in FIG. 1, the
closure 34 completely closes off the trapezoidal door opening
defined at the front end of the shelter S- A Teflon.TM. block 38 is
fixedly secured near the bottom end of each side of the closure 34
for reasons which will be explained in details hereinafter.
The side edges of the closure 34 and, more particularly, the loops
thereof enclosing the cables 36 and the lower blocks 38 enclosing
both the closure loops and the cables 36 are received into the
guide rails 22 which each define an inwardly facing longitudinal
slot 40 for allowing the closure 34 to extend through the guide
rails 22, inwardly from the cables 36. As seen in FIG. 4, there is
rotatably mounted a lower pulley 42 at the bottom ends of each
guide rail 22.
As best seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 13, each support plate 18 comprises
a pulley system which includes a front guide pulley 44 and a double
pulley 46 which comprises a slightly outwardly angled outer pulley
48 and a frusto-conical inner pulley 50. The cable 36 is fixedly
attached at both ends thereof to the double pulley 46 and, more
particularly, one end of the cable 36 is attached to the outer
pulley 48 with the other end thereof being attached to the inner
pulley 50. From the inner pulley 50, the cable 36 passes around the
guide pulley 44 and then runs along the lateral edge of the closure
34 while, as mentioned hereinabove, being secured thereto. At the
bottom of the closure 34, the cable 36 extends through the
Teflon.TM. block 38 which is mounted to the lower end of the
closure 34. The cable 36 then engages the lower pulley 42 rotatably
mounted at the lower end of the guide rail 22. Afterwards, the
cable 36 extends upwards, behind the closure 34 and is then secured
to the outer pulley 48. Between the lower pulley 42 and the outer
pulley 48, at least part of the cable 36 includes an elastic
section 54 which acts as a binder for reasons which will be
explained hereinafter.
A retaining arm 56 is mounted slightly above the guide pulley 44
for ensuring the engagement of the cable 36 with the guide pulley
44, as best seen in FIG. 4.
As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower end of the closure 34 comprises
a pair of horizontal elastic members 58 which ensure that the
closure 34 remains relatively taut at the point of entry thereof in
the guide rails 22 when the closure 34 is displaced upwards and
gradually becomes "too big" in view of the converging side guide
rails 22. Indeed, as the closure 34 gradually moves upwards, the
elastic members 58 pick up the slack produced in the closure 34.
The teflon.TM. blocks 38 are located opposite the elastic members
58 in order to ensure that, even with the elastic force applied
inwardly by the elastic members 58, the closure 34 and the cables
36 connected thereto can slide along the guide rails 22.
As seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, a variant 38a of the teflon.TM. block
38 defines an inner lower recess 60 which communicates with a
vertical opening 61 for allowing the cable 36 to leave the closure
34 higher than a lower edge 52 thereof. This configuration allows
for the lower pulleys 42 to be mounted above the ground surface (as
seen in FIG. 13) thereby reducing the possibility that they become
jammed because of ice built-ups on or near the ground. Opposite the
recess 60, the closure 34 is thus not directly driven by the cable
36, but the rigidity of the block 38a ensures that the lower end 52
of the closure 34 located opposite the recesses 60 of the
teflon.TM. blocks 38a extends firmly downwardly right up to the
ground so that the closure 34 properly closes the door opening of
the shelter S along the whole height thereof and, more
particularly, at the lower end 52 of the closure 34 as it is not
driven by the cables 36. Therefore, the configuration of the
teflon.TM. blocks 38a allow for the lower pulleys 42 to be mounted
considerably above the ground to prevent the same from jamming due
to ice built-ups, while ensuring that the closure 34 extends
vertically and firmly downwards right up to the ground.
As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the guide rails 22 are provided with
seals 62 inwardly of the slots 40 thereof.
As seen in FIGS. 8 and 10, the overhead shaft 32 does not extend
through the double pulleys 46, but rather includes an extension 64
of small diameter which extends outwardly therefrom and through the
double pulley 46. The shaft extension 64 then extends outwardly
through bearings 66 secured to the support plate 18 and, outwardly
of the support plate 18, the shaft extension 64 is fixedly received
in a square-toothed gear 68 (e.g. a timing gear), the teeth of the
toothed belt 30 being engaged between the teeth of the timing gear
68 for drivingly connecting the motor 26 and reducer gearbox 28 to
this timing gear 68.
With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, it is understood that, when the
closure 34 is closed, an appropriate rotation of the motor 26
causes a rotation of the shaft 32 along arrow 70 of FIG. 3 thereby
causing the cables 36 to displace along arrow 72 of FIG. 4, whereby
the cables 36 gradually wind around the inner pulleys 50 while the
closure 34 is being raised along the guide rails 22 along arrow 74
of FIG. 3 and arrow 76 of FIG. 13, the lateral edges of the closure
34 which enclose the cables 36 gradually winding around the inner
pulleys 50 (see FIG. 10) while the cables 36 simultaneously unwind
from the outer pulleys 48 along arrow 78 of FIG. 4. As the closure
34 is being raised, the effective width thereof increases but, in
view of the tapered configuration of the inner pulleys 50 (again
see FIG. 10), the closure 34 will wind around the shaft 32 while
remaining substantially taut in view of the outward stacking of the
cables 36 onto the inner pulleys 50. The outer pulleys 48 are
slightly angled to facilitate the unwinding and winding of the
cables 36 therearound in view of the angular orientation of the
cables 36 below the outer pulleys 48, as seen in FIG. 8.
Furthermore, the tapered configuration of the inner pulleys 50
ensures that the closure 34 winds there around in an orderly
fashion, as seen in FIG. 10. As seen in FIG. 3, the cable 36 is
directed by the guide pulley 44 towards the larger outward end of
the tapering inner pulley 50 so that the cable 36 can then
appropriately slide downwards and inwards from this outward end of
the inner pulley 50 towards the inward smaller end thereof, thereby
ensuring a neat and orderly stacking of the coils of the cable 36
around the inner pulley 50.
The elastic portion 54 of each cable 36 acts as a binder to ensure
that the cables 36 remain taut during the operation of the closure
34 in view of the fact that, during rotation of the double pulleys
46, the amount of cable which is being wound around one of the
outer and inner pulleys 48 and 50 thereof is normally different
from the amount of cable which unreels from the other one of the
outer and inner pulleys 48 and 50, respectively.
Even though there are elastic portions 54 in the mechanism for
driving the closure 34 between the open and closed positions
thereof, the motor 26 acts directly on the closure 34 during the
ascension thereof, i.e. its displacement towards its open position,
as it is the unextendable cables 36 which act on the closure 34,
the binder mechanism provided by the elastic portions 54 being only
functional during the lowering of the closure 34. This
configuration allows the motor 26 to exert direct forces on the
closure when it is being opened thereby enabling the motor 26 to
dislodge the lower end of the closure 34, for instance, from ice
having built up thereat while the closure 34 was closed.
Alternatively, the elastic portions 54 can be replaced by springs
84, as seen in FIG. 11, which might have a more constant spring
force for the various operating temperatures of the closure device
D.
The elastic members 58 again will ensure that the slack gradually
provided in the closure 34 when it is raised is taken up
substantially centrally of the closure 34 and not at the lateral
edges thereof in order to ensure a proper sliding action of the
closure 34 along the guide rails 22, that is to prevent a jamming
of the lateral edges of the closure 34 in the slots 40 of the guide
rails 22.
A reverse operation of the motor 26 causes the cables 36 to wind
around the outer pulleys 48 of the double pulleys 46, whereby the
closure 34 is pulled downwards along the guide rails 22 and thus
unwinds gradually from the inner tapered pulleys 50 of the double
pulleys 46.
As well known in the art of garage doors, a remote control can be
provided for remotely operating the motor 26 thereby allowing the
user to open and close the closer 34 at a distance and, for
instance, from within a vehicle.
When the closure 34 is closed, the elastic members 58 can still be
somewhat extended in order to allow for the closure 34 to
sufficiently yield when a force is applied thereon, such as by snow
being thrown thereon by a snowplow or the like, thereby preventing
rupture of the closure 34.
As seen in FIG. 8, the ends of the cables 36 are secured to the
outer pulleys 48 by screws 80 and to the inner pulleys 50 by screws
82.
For manual opening and closing of the closure 34 in case of a
failure of the motor 26 or in case of the closure 34 becoming
jammed in the guide rails 22 due to ice, there are provided a pair
of side zippers 86 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) which extend parallel to and
slightly inwards of the guide rails 22, whereby the closure can be
manually rolled and then attached at the top of the door opening
with strings 88.
Accordingly, by way of the closure device D of the present
invention, a flared door opening defined in a vehicle shelter C can
be completely closed in a substantially taut way and, when the
closure is being raised or generally when it is at least partly
wound around the overhead shaft, the closure is wound in an orderly
and taut fashion around this overhead shaft. The closure device of
the present invention thus allows for a motorized closure to be
installed on a vehicle shelter without reducing the effective width
of the door opening thereof.
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